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Three booked for chopping off 24-year-old youth’s fingers in Mohali
Three men chopped off four fingers of a 24-year-old youth in Barmajra village, Balongi, on February 8, suspecting his involvement in the murder of one of the assailants’ brother
Three men chopped off four fingers of a 24-year-old youth in Barmajra village, Balongi, on February 8, suspecting his involvement in the murder of one of the assailants’ brother.
Police have come under scrutiny for keeping the gory crime under wraps for two weeks before it was brought to light through tweets by Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa.
On their part, police said there was no such attempt and raids were underway to arrest the accused. Also, two weeks after the crime, police have been able to identify only one of the three accused, Gaurav Sharma, alias Gori, based on the complaint of the victim, Hardip, who works as a driver.
According to police, Gori was released on bail from Chandigarh jail a few days before the crime. He was shifted there from Patiala jail on January 19.
He is facing three criminal cases, including those of attempt to murder, assault and drugs, registered at Balongi station in Mohali, apart from another in Chandigarh, aimed at avenging the murder of his brother Bunty Sharma, who was attacked with swords and bricks while trying to rescue a friend in Barmajra on August 16, 2022.
Posed as CIA staff
The victim, Hardip, told the police that he was standing near his house around 2 pm on February 8, when two men approached him, claiming to be staff from police’s CIA.
Stating that there was a police complaint against him, they led him to a car. But he realised it was a trap on spotting Gori standing near the vehicle. The men thrashed him and forcibly took him to a forest area in Barmajra.
Threatening him of dire consequences, they sought information about men behind the murder of Gori’s brother. When he refused, one of the three men restrained him and another started filming, while the third chopped off his fingers with a sharp-edged weapon, before fleeing in their car. They also snatched his phone, Hardip alleged.
He rushed home in pain and was taken to the Phase-6 civil hospital from where he was referred to PGIMER.
Fingers could not be reattached
The victim’s cousin Sukhwinder Singh said after cops failed to find the fingers, he along with another cousin took them to PGIMER.
Hardip said he underwent an eight-hour surgery for reattachment of two fingers, but they got infected and had to be removed. “I have lost four fingers of my left hand and will remain disabled through life. My father, a labourer, suffered a heart attack recently and is not able to work. My family is terrified, suspecting another attack,” the victim stated.
Victim’s family also blamed the police for inaction. “No cop came to our house to investigate the case. They haven’t been able to arrest anyone even when the faces of the accused were captured in CCTV cameras,” said a cousin of the victim.
However, DSP (City 1) Harinder Singh Mann said several teams, including those from CIA, were conducting raids to nab the accused: “Police registered a case the very next day on February 9. The assailants will be arrested soon.”
The accused have been booked under Sections 365 (kidnapping), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act at the Phase-1 police station.
